Top Bangladesh Opposition Leader Sentenced to Death

DHAKA, Bangladesh—A special war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced a top opposition leader to death for committing crimes against humanity during the country's 1971 war for independence.

In a ruling on Tuesday, the tribunal, set up by the government of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina,
found Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, a member of parliament from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, guilty of nine out of 23 charges, including genocide, arson, torture and forced deportation.

ENLARGE

Bangladesh opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party senior leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury waves as he arrives to appear before a special war crimes tribunal in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013. The tribunal ruled Tuesday that Chowdhury should be put to death for his involvement in the killing of hundreds of people during the county's independence fight against Pakistan in 1971.
Associated Press

Mr. Chowdhury, 64 years old, had pleaded not guilty to the charges and said he wasn't in Bangladesh during the conflict. He was the first member of parliament convicted by the tribunal.

The tribunal has handed down seven guilty verdicts against current or former opposition figures, prompting critics to say it has become a tool for political score-settling by those in power.

Government officials and prosecutors deny that, saying they are finally able to bring to justice those responsible for atrocities in Bangladesh's bloody war of separation from Pakistan, in which Bengali Islamist militias sided with Islamabad.

The tribunal and its rulings have polarized public opinion and triggered a series of countrywide strikes and clashes with police that have left scores of people dead since January.

The unrest poses a threat to the Bangladesh's garment industry—the country's main export engine—which is already reeling from the collapse of a factory complex in April that killed more 1,130 people.

Police were out in force on the streets of Dhaka after Tuesday's verdict.

The opposition BNP hasn't called for the trials to be scrapped. But its key ally, the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, reacted violently after some of its top leaders were sentenced by the tribunal.

Zead Al-Malum, one of the prosecutors, expressed satisfaction at Tuesday's ruling. "Salauddin Quader Chowdhury is a powerful man, but ultimately he could not escape justice for his role in 1971," he said.

Mr. Chowdury's eldest son, Faiyaz Quader Chowdhury, said the verdict represented a miscarriage of justice and claimed the court ignored evidence presented by the defense.

"In 1971, my father was a student at Punjab University in West Pakistan," he said after the ruling. "We presented documents and witnesses to prove this, but the court ignored our evidence. We will appeal."

Four of the six people found guilty earlier by the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal—which operates under domestic law—were sentenced to death.

Human-rights groups have said the trials fall short of internationally accepted standards of justice. The government has denied this. Opposition leaders have said the trials should be held under the auspices of the United Nations.

The opposition swept local-council elections in June and July, riding what they said was a wave of public rejection of Ms. Hasina's policies.

With national parliamentary elections due by early next year, the opposition has insisted that Ms. Hasina's government resign at the end of its tenure this month so a caretaker cabinet can oversee the voting. Ms. Hasina has refused.

Around 2 million people died in the genocide against bengali hindus by erstwhile west Pakistan (now Pakistan) and its proxies in erstwhile east Pakistan (now Bangladesh). This ghastly massacre has been soon forgotten by the media who are mostly focusing on decrying the punishments. But justice must meted out - even though we cannot bring the dead people back, we can at-least stop the murderers from roaming free .

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